suzyy13

i have a 2000 ex, as i was driving uphill the car started losing power and stumbling (almost acting like it was running out of gas- which there was plenty of) i pulled over and turned it off, it has not started since! its almost a fast, high pitched crank. IT DOES have gas, its getting spark, its getting fuel pressure, you can hear the fuel pump come on, timing was checked and is correct, compression is only 120 in all four. i know thats low but i would think it could still start off that. any ideas???

ezone

Are the sparkplugs wet or dry?

You say it has spark.....my question is always, "How much spark?" Meaning, how large of a gap can the spark jump across? (The .044" gap of a spark plug laying on top of the valve cover is not a great test by itself.)
1/8 inch gap?
1/2 inch gap or more?

suzyy13

i got new plugs and set them at .044 - as always. but after cranking it and taking a plug out, their moist and gas smelling.

suzyy13

i also got a new distributor and cam sensor, after doing the sensor, it sounded better but still wont start

ezone

New doesn't mean good. Aftermarket reman distributors are a crapshoot at best.

The way I read your reply, the spark plugs went in before you got the distributor? If so, you may need to dry them off again and oil the cylinders to restore the lost compression.

ezone

Any codes in the computer?


Alternate to pulling plugs and oiling cylinders, but probably takes longer:

When it is flooded and cranking faster than usual, it will need to be "dried out" after the root cause of the initial problem is corrected.

Make sure the battery is charged up.
Hold the gas pedal to the floor and keep it there. (This is known as "clear flood" or "dechoke"mode. The computer won't inject more gas while cranking as long as the throttle is wide open.)
Crank it for about 15 seconds, then stop and let the starter cool off for a minute or two.
Floor the gas pedal again and crank some more.
Lather, rinse, repeat. Wipe hands on pants.

If the original cause has been fixed, and the only problem now is that it is flooded, it eventually should begin trying to fire once enough fresh air has been passed through to dry out some of the raw fuel. It might take a while even after the first cylinder tries to fire, since the rest are still wet.

suzyy13

the check engine light was on before the car died and i didnt check it. it turned off on its own after trying to start it with the new distributor.

suzyy13

i was thinking it might be flooded but didnt know how to "dry" it out

ezone

and restore the lost compression.



I explained 2 ways to do that. One in each post above.

ezone

Does that car really have 337k on it? Nice!

suzyy13

i will defiantly try that. its actually up to 341,900 miles right now

ezone

If you try to oil the cylinders, don't use more than about a teaspoon of oil in each cylinder.

Crank it a few seconds before you put the plugs back in to clear out excess oil....Some people bend rods because they skip this step.

suzyy13

Still wont start i got a new ect sensor and did the "deflooded" technique and its so close! it sounds better and it almost caught a few times

ezone

Remember, once it's been flooded, there is raw gas standing in the cylinders that gets the spark plugs wet when you crank it.
Wet plugs can't fire, and the liquid gasoline washes the oil film off of the cylinder walls so the compression is lowered.

It can take a lot of cranking before enough gas has been dried out to get it to actually run. Some engines won't even run after that, they still need oil added to the cylinders manually.

Got an air compressor? An air blow gun with a long thin tube could be used to dry the cylinders.
You can pull out the plugs and dry them, and you can crank the engine with the plugs out (and gas pedal on the floor). That can help dry the cylinders too.
Disable the coil so you don't start a fire before you crank it though.
Crank it until the fuel vapor stops puffing from the cylinders?

Reinstall plugs.
Once it begins trying to fire, then it may require foot manipulation to control whether fuel gets injected or not. I can't explain when and why (LOL), it's gained with lots of experience.

suzyy13

ok, i will try that in the morning. is there a possibility there could be a leaking fuel injector also?

Fliptard

how about checking the CEL to see why it's on? that's the FIRST thing you do when something is messed up and it comes on.

ezone

^^^That. Thanks, Fliptard.

(I stick my nose in so many different threads, I get confused about who has done what LOL)

So you now have replaced a distributor, a cam sensor, and a coolant temp sensor.

Did you ever figure out what the original problem was, or were all these parts just tossed in hopes of making it run?

suzyy13

the check engine light is not on at all. at this point i am trying anything

ezone

If the battery has not been run down or disconnected, then whatever code it had should still be in the memory. Might be worth seeing what it is/was. If possible.

But if the battery has been run down or disconnected, there won't be anything in memory.

suzyy13

it has ran down but not to complete dead

ezone

Was that the point the engine light was no longer on?

If so, then I bet it dumped the memory.